Joe's musing about free will and God.

[Flint]

I find two fundamental problems with your reasoning:

Originally Posted by Ruminator

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I can't accept...

#1 Reality doesn't care what you can accept.

Originally Posted by Ruminator

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From my studying, we likely have a very significant place in this universe from the scientific evidence that I've found exists.*
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#2 According to the best scientific evidence available to ants, ants will conclude that ants have a very significant place in the universe.

[Number 2 Pencil]

Originally Posted by Flint

#2 According to the best scientific evidence available to ants, ants will conclude that ants have a very significant place in the universe.

The approach I am going to take here is probably the opposite of the ones in my above posts

Could consciousness somehow be important to the universe?

Haven't scientists found that by observing fundamental physics experiments, they themselves 'force' the universe to choose between the possible results. Their tests seems to show that quantum physics situations that go unobserved remain in a state of probability rather than having a fixed solution. If that is the case, then the universe really does need someone with consciousness to observe it in order to somehow cause it to become what it is, otherwise it would be a fuzzy blob of vagueness with no definition.

(yes, this is sort of the opposite of what I had said earlier, but it seems both positions though more or less opposite are totally unprovable. So this idea might be true and the other thing I said about parallel universes might be bunk. Which would be better?)

[Ruminator]

Accepting or rejecting a line of reasoning isn't a part of the reasoning, but rather a judgment of its plausibilty.

Reality doesn't care what you can accept.

- Obviously true for each of us.
Your linking my quote with your statement is an ungrounded leap.

According to the best scientific evidence available to ants, ants will conclude that ants have a very significant place in the universe.

- cute, prove it.

[Flint]

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So in looking around I ask myself, "Out of the various options/ explanations that appear to exist, how many are logical, reasonable, answer all of the necessary requirements, and has evidence that it follows the scientific natural laws that we in our capacity can discern.
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Sorry, it appears from what you've said that the options/explanations you are willing to consider are those which meet the extremely specific conditions you've pre-decided must be satisfied, i.e. an emotional relationship God/dess which doesn't play "hide and seek" with him/herself; right?